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Three feelings sum up the Arts Sector’s response to COVID–19. Firstly, a feeling of doom and nothing seeming to work. Secondly, a sense of paralysis, coupled with a curiosity about what might work. Thirdly, there’s an optimism about the future, and a fierce determination to survive and thrive in this trying time.
I don’t think these feelings are confined to the Arts Sector, of course, and these feelings alternate with each other even over a single day. Arts organisations are faring better than individual artists. Jobs have some protection, but freelance work sadly does not. Individual artists that have very low incomes, in any case, have lost al

The Liberties is one of Dublin’s oldest neighbourhoods and for Amy Sergison, it’s part of her family history. She revisited the area to explore its evolution.
The Liberties is one of Dublin’s oldest neighbourhoods having been around in one way or another since the 12th century. In my memory, this is where my nana lived and my Dad grew up.
I have very fond memories of visiting my nana on Basin Street. We would know we were close in the car, even if our eyes were closed because we could smell the hops from Guinness. I remember Greta’s shop (sadly gone today), where the floor sparkled like diamonds and jars filled with sugar barley stood tall on top of

Katie Kavanagh, a Dublin 8 based photographer, had an idea. As we’re generally stuck indoors due to COVID-19 restrictions, she’d take portrait shots of her neighbours at their doors. The idea grew legs and she’s linked up with Purple House Cancer Support Centre for the project, ‘Doors Closed, Hearts Open‘. Their aim is to create a gallery of 200,000 Doortraits to support the 200,000 people living with Cancer in Ireland

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Elisa Capitanio is a UX Designer at social media intelligence agency Storyful, and also runs her own independent abstract art business.
She came to Ireland nine years ago completely by chance. Living in Italy, she longed for a change of pace, so she left her home of Bergamo and moved to London. Dublin came calling with an opportunity for Elisa to try her hand at being a web designer, so she packed her bags for a second time and moved country again. Since then, Ireland has become her permanent home and has inspired her art.
She chose Dublin for its fast market and inspiring tech community.
Of working in Dublin’s tech industry, Elisa said:

Traffic: we all hate it. But we’re stuck with – and in – it. Or are we?
A new initiative from Dublin City Council (DCC) and delivery firm UPS is aiming to reduce the number of vehicles on the city’s roads. It uses what UPS call an “Eco Hub” container on Wolfe Tone Street. The Eco Hub acts as a small distribution hub from which deliveries can be made by bike or on foot.
“It came about when we were approached by UPS, who had piloted the same project in London, Paris and Hamburg,” explains Colm Ennis, Senior Executive Engineer with DCC. “We are developing a strategy for city centre goods deliveries and are trying to reduce

In recent years, Dublin has lost some of its most important creative spaces to a building boom that’s reminiscent of the Celtic Tiger era.
Block T in Smithfield and South Studios near Cork Street were both closed down in 2016 with a significant loss of square footage for artists, photographers, designers and writers. In their place, however, a new generation of co-working spaces – aimed specifically at servicing Dublin’s creative communities – is coming into being.
Although they have become abundant in many European capitals in the last few years, co-working spaces are a relatively new arrival in the Dublin property market. In the past 12 months the number

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Following a recent major agreement between the Government and the Hague based Permanent Court of Arbitration there is a significant opportunity for Dublin to become a centre for dispute resolution.
Dublin has a huge amount to offer as an international arbitration venue, including a highly respected legal system. Following the UK’s departure from the EU, Ireland will also be the only fully common-law, English speaking country in the EU. Currently cities including Paris, Zurich and Stockholm have been seen as seats for arbitration, however newer places, including Dublin could now attract high profile cases. This has the potential to be a major boost to the econ

The COVID-19 crisis has resulted in many businesses facing an uncertain future, rethinking how they will make money. Many entrepreneurs have found a silver lining from their new circumstances in being given an unexpected opportunity to work on sustainable and ethical ideas as they reinvent their business.
Making your start-up or existing business sustainable or ethical is also a smart, future-proof option. Customers are now much more informed and aware of the environmental impact of their purchases. A more sustainable product or service will create a positive brand image and reputation that will impact the bottom line of many businesses.

As the impact of the COVID–19 outbreak intensifies, businesses across Dublin are finding ways to diversify to survive the crisis and retain their staff. The virus is hitting our economy hard, and it’s creating a situation that’s well beyond the experience of most business owners. However, in these difficult times, many businesses have managed, with the support of their Local Enterprise Office, to adapt and shift to new products and services quickly.
UNIFORMAL
Uniformal, an established uniform and corporate wear provider based in South Dublin, have been supplying Irish businesses with bespoke and premium ready-to-wear uniform solutions and workwear fo

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With a huge urban campus, state-of-the-art facilities, and the largest student body of any university in Ireland, University College Dublin welcomes hundreds of new international students every year.
UCD prides itself on being Ireland’s global university and has international campuses and strong links to academic institutions in locations as far-flung as Beijing and Malaysia. They have a portfolio of over 500 institutional partnerships in over 90 countries, allowing students and staff to engage in exchange programmes for research, studies, internships, field trips and volunteering opportunities. Around 1,000 students avail of these opportunities every year, a

We sat down with Professor Philip Nolan, president of Maynooth University, to discuss his plans for the university, which lies on the periphery of Dublin. His role focuses on creating a strategy and implementing this to grow and develop the university.
Maynooth University is home to over 1,000 staff and 13,000 students, and more than 1,200 of these are international students hailing from over 60 countries. The university offers a wide range of excellent academic programmes which are delivered by leading researchers in various fields, and students are challenged and encouraged to reach their full potential in this top-class learning environment.
C

Romina Dashghachian is 22. She’s from Germany (her parents are from Iran), and she’s studying for a Master’s in Public Relations at Dublin City University (DCU). Romina’s hometown is Munich, and she reckons that city and Dublin have a lot in common. “Munich has a community feel, so you never feel like you’re in a giant anonymous city. And that’s why I like Dublin as well. When you’re here, you don’t feel like you’re just disappearing in the crowds.”
But how did she come to choose Dublin in the first place? “I was in Dublin two years ago with a friend of mine just for a holiday trip, and we fell

Work Stories

Elisa Capitanio is a UX Designer at social media intelligence agency Storyful, and also runs her own independent abstract art business.
She came to Ireland nine years ago completely by chance. Living in Italy, she longed for a change of pace, so she left her home of Bergamo and moved to London. Dublin came calling with an opportunity for Elisa to try her hand at being a web designer, so she packed her bags for a second time and moved country again. Since then, Ireland

Attention Dubliners: we’re incredibly lucky to inhabit a city with such foodie inclinations and a culinary largesse. Right now, Dublin offers an exquisite blend of Michelin-starred fare, outstanding street food, hipster eateries and friendly local restaurants. And let’s not forget the evolution of our drink culture either. We were once a city of avowed tea drinkers and pint lovers; we’re now as au fait with cocktails and customised artisan coffee blends as any seasoned mixologist or barista – and loving them. We’ve also fully embraced the juicing phenomenon, but still find time for a cuppa. Or three.

The Guinness Enterprise Centre, on Taylor’s Lane in the heart of Dublin’s Liberties, is managed by Dublin Business Innovation Centre and has been named the no.1 university associated business incubation centre in the world. In the first of two articles about the GEC, Dublin.ie talks to Eamonn Sayers, the centre’s manager since 2011. Dublin.ie: I’m an entrepreneur. I’ve got an idea. What can the GEC do for me here? Eamonn Sayers: The first step here is that we’ll try and put you in front of an entrepreneur who’s in the same industry. We’ll say have a chat with this person, see what they’re thinking. If you’ve identified your target market, again we’ll say we know someone here who’s in the same market and they’ll have a coffee with you too. Dublin.ie: Then what happens? Eamonn Sayers: Our role here is to help your company grow and scale. We help to make it become better and we help to make you a better entrepreneur. We create an environment and a community and a sense of belonging that makes entrepreneurs very comfortable, makes them enjoy the fact that this is their office, this is their workplace, so that both the entrepreneur and their teams are in the best place to grow their businesses.

From one chair to three shops – the success of Cut & Sew
Barbershop culture is on the rise in Dublin. Barbershops are becoming cultural hotspots. Places you can go not only for a haircut, but for music, design or even a whiskey.
By taking the best of New York’s barbershops and adding a touch of creativity and an Irish welcome, Sean Bryan of Cut & Sew has built his business from one chair in the basement of a record shop to three stores in Dublin’s city centre. And he isn’t finished yet. Dublin.ie caught up with Sean to see what’s behind his success.
Sean left school after

Dublin’s docks met the same sorry fate in the 1970s as those elsewhere around the world, the arrival of containers revolutionising shipping and decimating dockland employment.
Work that had sustained inner-city communities for generations suddenly evaporated. The Docklands became empty, desolate wastelands until the first regeneration project came in the shape of Charles Haughey’s Irish Financial Services Centre in the late 80s. The IFSC was developed on the north side of the Liffey behind Connolly train station. While banks and other financial services moved into the area, it had little impact at first on the citizens of Dublin. And at night there was a tumbleweed feel to th

“You’re always fine-tuning so it’s always challenging; you’re always looking for improvements, no matter what they are, small ones or bigger ones”
The Job: Airbnb: the online community marketplace that has transformed the way we book our holiday accommodation. We Irish have taken to the notion of renting out our houses, apartments and spare rooms to visiting folk particularly well, with the number of Dublin hosts growing at somewhat furious rate.
Who she is: Chloé Roux, a project manager with Airbnb in Dublin. Originally from Lebanon, she did her MBA in Milan an